NEPAL – Tilaurakot - A team of archaeologists, including some foreign experts, has initiated fresh excavation at Tilaurakot, an ancient Shakya capital city where Siddhartha Gautam spent his princely life before he became the Buddha. The archaeologists started excavation works on Sunday, digging in three different places on the premises of the historic palace as per a geophysical survey conducted three years ago. The experts initiated works in two places where the survey showed a 1x1m wall of a structure in the middle of the palace premises. Nine trenches each measuring 10x10m in size have been dug in 30x30m area in the eastern section of the structure. The archaeologists have also dug four trenches of the same size in 20x20m area on the southern side. The northern and western entry gates of the structure were traced during the similar excavations carried out two years ago. Likewise, a fresh excavation has been started by digging a trench measuring 15x6m in the area north-west of Samayamai Temple. The archaeologists had recovered 494 ancient “punch mark” coins in an earthen pot during the excavation in Tilaurakot in 2015. Similarly, post holes were also found in the area during the earlier excavation.http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2018-01-10/fresh-excavation-in-tilaurakot.html

IRLANDE – Cork - It follows the release of a new report on the archaeological excavations at the former Beamish and Crawford site on South Main St which has yielded evidence for the earliest urban layout for the city. Tree-ring dating from samples in one area of the site have dated the remains of a house to AD1070 — 15 years earlier than the urban layout in Waterford. The foundations of a 12th-century church have also been found.Cllr Kieran McCarthy, a historian, said he has concerns about this move, especially in the wake of the report which shows that archaeologists have found: ; Evidence for the earliest urban layout archaeologically proven for Cork; Stone foundations representing about two thirds of St Laurence’s Church. Preservation of the remains in situ is unlikely however due to unfavourable tidal and environmental conditions; Evidence of land claim and reclamation levels dating from AD1120 to AD1150. It was reported last year that an impressive wooden weaver’s sword, a wooden saddle pommel and a distinctive wooden thread winder, all of which were well-preserved and elaborately decorated, were also found.

INDONESIE – Siwal - Residents of Siwal village in Sukoharjo regency, Central Java, found a headless cow statue on Monday presumed to date back to the ancient Mataram era. Local resident Walidi uncovered the statue when he was digging holes in the soil to plant banana trees in his neighbor’s yard. The statue is around 1 meter long, 45 centimeters wide and 60 cm tall. Sukoharjo cultural heritage analyst Bimo Kokor Wijanarko said the statue was assumed to be a relic of the Hindu Mataram kingdom. The statue depicts Lembu Andini, a sacred animal believed to be the carriage of Shiva, he added. Bimo suspected the statue had been stolen before and then buried, because the head was missing. “A lot of animal-shaped ancient relics were found headless. Maybe this is because the heads of statues are very valuable,” he said.

SINGAPOUR - A nationwide survey will be done to identify sites of archaeological interest, possibly allowing archaeologists to step in early to survey and excavate in future before developers swing in. Such sites could include the mouth of the Singapore River - home to an early settlement and later a thriving harbour - and others with ancient settlements and trade activities. Archaeologist Lim Chen Sian of the ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute's Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre said new archaeological explorations could unearth more data about the island's history as a trading outpost and colony, and could also shed light on early industries such as brick-making.

INDE - Padiyur -A stone inscription believed to be from an ancient Shiva temple constructed in the 13th century, was found by a group of archeologists and students near Padiyur in Dindiguldistrict recently.The letters on the rock were almost destroyed due to natural weathering and from what they could decipher it spoke about the land being donated to the temple by the villagers to the Shiva temple, during Pandiya King, Sundarapandian's period. This donation has been inscribed by a person named Koothandan Thennavan, stating that the given land would be free of tax as it was given to the temple. There is a symbol of a trident in the inscription specifying that it was a temple for Lord Shiva. Names of many people have been inscribed below Thennavan; the team were only able to decipher names of Velan, Koothan, Padiputhiran and Alumpadiyan. The history or location of the temple is unknown. Narayanamoorthy alleges that the walls of the temple may have been constructed with wood on a stone base and might be the reason why it is not seen today. If it had been a complete stone structure, the walls would have contained more information. "It may be the reason why the donation has been inscribed on a separate rock," he said. In order to ascertain the presence of the temple, they had searched the place and found partially buried statues of Lord Murugan, Bhairavar, Nandhi and the avudai, the stand on which a Shivalinga is usually installed.

OMAN – Saham -Five old settlements and cemeteries dating back to the Um Al Nar culture between 2500 to 2000 BC were unearthed in the wilayat of Saham in North Al Batinah.The unearthed sites are located at Dahwi, Wadi Al Sukhn and Al Thaqibah, about 26 km to the west of the wilayat of Saham on the northern plains of Al Hajr Al Gharbi mountains. These are the oldest archaeological sites unearthed in the northern part of the Sultanate. The excavation work started in 2010. Dr. Khalid Daghlas, Head of Archaeology Department at SQU said the survey and exploration works unearthed a number of potteries and stone works which point out that these sites have close connection with Indus, Mesopotamia and Iran.This is an evidence that the settlers at these sites were working in copper smelting and trading. He added that the archaeological exploration works unearthed a number of cemeteries that date back to Umm Al Nar era. This means that they used to bury dead in group cemeteries built of white sandstone. They used also to place with him some clay and stone utensils.http://timesofoman.com/article/125719/Oman/Heritage/Five-archaeological-sites-unearthed-in-Saham